Page 78 of Dating After the End of the World
Tessa trails behind as I race to catch up with Blake outside. My face is hot to the touch, and my breath is labored from throwing on my clothes and sprinting after Blake before he can make it to Nate. But I’m too late. Out front, Nate stands in a circle with half my family surrounding him. Dad, Aunt Julie, and Elaine are full of smiles. JJ and Uncle Jimmy wear neutral expressions, as though they’re still assessing what to make of this new arrival. Blake enters the circle with his chin raised and eyes slightly tapered.
“Better get over there before your boyfriends meet,” Tessa says with a chuckle.
I whip my head toward her. “They’re not my boyfriends. Well, I guess Nate is my fiancé. But Blake ... I’m not sure what we are. Even less so now.”
“Enemies with benefits,” she teases.
“Stop.” I crack a small smile and lightly shove her. She’s wrong about one part—I no longer view him as the enemy. The boy I was able to find something amazing in all those years ago finally came back to me, and it only took the world ending for it to happen. But just as we acknowledged our feelings for one another in the most intimate way possible ... a wrench was thrown into our rekindling.
My gaze goes back to Nate and Blake, standing across from one another. Nate’s back is to me, but even so, I can see he’s clearly been through hell. His clothes are stained, full of filth. The skin on his armsand the back of his neck are covered in either more filth or scrapes and bruises. He’s lost weight, mainly muscle, and his hair’s cut short, which is just as surprising as his sudden appearance here, since his hair has always been his most prized possession.
I notice Dad’s lips are moving as he gestures to Blake and then to Nate, clearly introducing them. Nate, none the wiser, extends a hand. If he knew what Blake did to me with that hand this morning, he’d for sure be throwing a fist instead. A jolt of electricity flashes through my body just thinking about it. I shake away the thought and blow out a gust of air, readying myself to face this head-on.
Tessa slaps a hand on my shoulder, startling me. “You might want to go and run interference before Blake and Nate get to talking about their common interests—you know, things or people they like to do.” She raises a brow, grinning.
“Oh God.”
I immediately start off toward them, almost in a daze, because I still can’t believe Nate’s here. This is all too much, and I’m worried about what Blake may say or do. I take several deep breaths as I walk, trying to calm myself. I’ve just gotta play it cool, and then I’ve gotta figure out what the hell happened back in the city.
Blake’s gaze veers around Nate, locking onto me as I approach. He wears an expression that’s both sultry and brooding, like he’s upset but he doesn’t want to be. I can barely look at him, yet I also can’t look away.
Seemingly sensing my presence or noticing that Blake’s fixated on something behind him, Nate twists his head, glancing over his shoulder. I can’t believe he’s alive and that he made it all the way here. I thought he was dead, and I’m honestly so glad he’s not. Even if he did ditch me, I would never want that for him. Nate’s mouth parts at the sight of me. I smile, my lips moving and twitching in all directions, as I’m not sure what reaction I’m supposed to have, especially with Blake watching. While I’m happy to see the man who got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, my body is still yearning for the touch of someone else. Nate turns on his heel and takes off in a sprint toward me. Hedoesn’t stop until I’m wrapped up in his arms and my feet are lifting off the ground.
“I can’t believe it,” he says. “I missed you so much.” He kisses the side of my head through his words and squeezes me tight, like he’s afraid I’ll slip—or pull—away.
Although I’m wrapped in Nate’s embrace, my eyes are on Blake, who stands fifteen yards away wearing a pained expression. I don’t tell Nate I missed him too. I can’t bring myself to say it because I didn’t, not with how he left. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe I should have missed him.
“What happened?” I whisper.
“What do you mean?”
“Nate ... you ditched me. You left me behind.” My voice cracks.
He lets go of me, allowing my feet to touch the earth again. He takes a step back, his hands resting on my shoulders and eyes frantically searching mine like he’s looking for something he thought was long gone.
“No, Casey, I would never.” Nate adamantly shakes his head. “I went through hell trying to get to you.”
His hands cup my face so I’m forced to look at him, forced to take in his appearance. Bruises in various hues from yellows to purples stretch across his neck. His left eye is black and blue, and up close, I can see how jagged his hair is, cut longer in some places and shorter in others, like he clipped it in the dark with a pair of rusty scissors. He’s clearly not lying about going through hell to get to me, but what happened before that? Why’d he run, and why didn’t he wait for me? That’s what I need to know.
“But you left me, and then I couldn’t find you,” I say, trying to maintain my strength.
“No, you have it all wrong. Yes, I ran, but I did that so they would chase after me. I figured they would, but they didn’t. By the time I realized they weren’t following me, I was already outside, so I went to the Porsche like we always talked about, and I waited foryou. But then I heard more of them closing in on me, so I hopped in my car and drove around the block, staying out of sight until the coast was clear. When I came back, you were gone. I even went up to the apartment to check, and then I stayed in the area for days looking for you until I remembered your truck. I didn’t know where it was parked, but I figured you had to have made it to it. And the only place you’d go outside the city was here.” Nate brushes a finger across my cheek. “When I was a hundred percent certain you weren’t in Chicago anymore, I came looking for you, praying, wishing, hoping you would be here.” He folds his lips in, blinking several times. “And you were.” Nate lets his head fall forward momentarily before lifting it. “All the horrible things I went through in order to get to you ...” He looks at me with a fixed gaze, a sheen coating his eyes. “I would do them all again, because I love you so much, Casey.”
I stare into the eyes of the man who didn’t give up on me, didn’t abandon me, and even risked his own life to make sure I was safe. What I thought was Nate fleeing at the first sign of trouble, ditching me to save his own ass, was actually him trying to protect me. I was the one who abandoned him, left him sick with worry as he searched for me. He fought his way out of Chicago all the way up here in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin, while I was content, enjoying safety and shelter. I even slept with someone else because I thought Nate had left me. How could I have done that? What kind of person does that make me? I feel so guilty, so sick to my stomach. I’m the bad guy in all this, not him.
Nate leans in and plants a hard kiss on my lips, his hands raking through my hair. My heart feels unsteady, as though it doesn’t know where it belongs. It’s breaking and mending at the same time. It breaks for Blake, but part of it feels like it’s being restored, healed. I kiss Nate back, forcing pressure and movement through my lips, only enough for him not to ask any questions about what I’ve been up to.
“Nate,” Blake calls out.
Startled, I pull away and wipe at my mouth. My dad and Blake approach, stopping a few feet from us.
Nate turns to face him, thrusting his jaw forward. “It’s Dr. Warner.”
“Right,” Blake says, curling his upper lip. “We should talk sleeping arrangements since it appears you’ll be staying.” He narrows his eyes ever so slightly, but I notice it, and I also notice when they flick to me.
“Yes, that’s the plan.” Nate nods. He reaches for my hand and smiles as he threads his fingers through mine.
In response, Blake huffs through his nose, making his nostrils flare.
